Because of the semiarid nature of many areas around the eastern Mediterranean, and the expenditures needed for cisterns and aqueducts, most ancient Greek toilets reused water for flushing. Except for the small private latrines, where the reused water was applied with buckets, in most other cases it flowed into the lavatory from natural sources, either continuously or periodically. In the last case there was a pipe network providing the reused water (see Fig. 4.17). If there was a shrine in the vicinity then that water was reused for the flushing, like the case of the lavatory at the Askleipeion on Kos. In other cases grey water was used such as the lavatories in Minoa on Amorgos, where any kind of water, residential, workshop etc., was running in the network. At the lavatory of the Kotyos Stoa in Epidaurus (Fig. 4.10b) the reused water was supplied from the therme situated 50 m north east of the lavatory.
The residential lavatories were flushed with either the left-over water from the kitchen or the bath, or the collected rainwater from the cistern of the house. In addition there is evidence that there was internal reuse of water. At the lavatory of the Askleipieion of Kos the water was supplied from the left over quantity of the shrines near the lavatory (Fig. 4.5). Then it flowed first in the perimetric ditch for cleaning the anovyKi (sponghia) and then was put into the main flushing ditch under the floor.
The categories of reused water supply were as follows:
The common type has the input of flushing water at one side and the outflow at the opposite. A subcategory of this type has the input and the output very close. A rare case incorporates intake of reused water and sewerage to the same duct, running just outside the building.
A small opening in the floor was used to direct the flushing water to the under floor ditch.
Moreover in cases of small domestic lavatories the reused water was that left over after other household uses, i. e. cooking and washing. In most examples of that
Fig. 4.17 Pipe network for reusing water in the Minoa on Amorgos (copyright permission with G. Antoniou)
Type an opening on the floor, at the edge of the ditch of the toilet, was used to direct the reused water for flushing.
• Often water reuse was taking place inside the lavatory
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